The invention relates to improved closure latch mechanisms for portable containers and to improved combinations therewith.
The art abounds with latch mechanisms that are used for latching the closure components of containers to the body components thereof. Such latch mechanisms are used in securing luggage parts together, in securing business machine carrying case parts together, and in latching the closure and body parts of lunch boxes, tackle cases, and the like together among many other uses that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Among the problems which are encountered with conventional latch mechanisms for such portable containers is that they are often inadvertently unlatched during the handling of the containers because the mechanisms are provided with projecting parts that serve to release the latch mechanism upon slight movement along the surface of the container as the containers are being handled. Some latch mechanisms are sometimes provided with key actuated locking devices for security purposes. The use of key-type locking devices is often unnecessary and frequently not desired because the locking devices in such instances are complicated and costly to manufacture. Apart from this there are many instances where the problem is not one of security but simply one of providing a latch carrying slide component with a locking device that minimizes the probabilities of the locking device being released inadvertently during the handling of the containers.